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WHAT IS SALT MARSH?

WELSH SALT MARSH LAMB CRITERIA

• To be eligible, every farm must be a current member of the Welsh Salt Marsh scheme.
• Salt Marsh Lamb can only be sold between 21st June and 31st December. This period is recognised as the ‘Gwynedd/Welsh Salt Marsh Lamb Season’.

DEFINING SALT MARSH GWYNEDD/WALES LAND
• The land must be in Wales.
• The land must be completely covered by the sea daily for a period of at least a week of every month as a result of natural ebb and flow.

FEEDING
• For the first two months of their lives, the lambs must suckle from their mother, then afterwards, continuously spend at least two months (after 2 months old) grazing saltings land freely. (The lambs can be moved from the field if their health is at risk).
• It is not acceptable to feed concentrates to the lambs.
• The finishing period should be less than a quarter of the time spent grazing the saltings land.

THE LAMBS
• The lamb’s weight at slaughter must be between 11.5Kg – 18kg.
• The lambs must be at least 120 days old before being slaughtered.
• Farmers should aim to achieve an ‘R’ grade or better regarding the lamb’s framework, and at least ‘3H’ classification with regards to fat content.

PROCESSING
• The lamb must be killed within 50 miles (straight line on a map) to the farm where it grazed saltings land.
• The animal must be slaughtered in a slaughterhouse that has been approved for PGI Welsh Lamb.
• The lamb’s carcass should be hung for a minimum of 4 days before being cut by a butcher.
• For every individual lamb, full traceability is essential.